We all have our opinion on who the best footballer of all time is, and in the eyes of many, Messi tops the pile. The Argentine legend has achieved a frightening amount in the game, and he has so many years at the top still. How is he only 27? Messi made his Barcelona debut back in October 2004, as a 17-year-old with a reputation as one of the greatest young talents in the Catalan club's history. It wasn't long before he was stunning the watching world with his unreal dribbling, wand of a left foot and relentless goalscoring. He was mentored by Ronaldinho, but it wasn't long before it became clear that Messi was the true star at Camp Nou. 16 goals in 2007/08 was a good return, but it paled into insignificance compared with what followed. Since 2008/09, Messi's goal tally for each year has gone 38, 47, 53, 73, 60, 41. That is just ridiculous statistics, and ones that would have been unfathomable even in the 1930s when defences were appalling. In that time, he has won two Champions Leagues, scoring in both finals against United, four La Liga crowns - he has won three Champions Leagues and six La Ligas in total- and four Ballon d'Ors in a row from 2009 to 2012. At international level he has almost won 100 caps already, and he will break Gabriel Batistuta's scoring record sooner rather than later. The goalscoring records he has broken are truly staggering. He is now the all-time top scorer for Barcelona, and has found the net more times than any other player in the Champions League and La Liga too. In total, he has 371 in 442 appearances for Barca. It's understandable to see why many rate him as the best ever, and goodness knows what he will have achieved in five or six years. We should feel privileged to be watching Messi in his prime right now, and there is every chance we will never see another one like him. Please let us know your 10 Greatest Footballers Of The 21st Century in the comments section.Follow Henry on twitter: @HenryJackson87
